Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowgirl Softball Set For Texas Tech Series
April 13, 2004 | Cowgirl Softball
Oklahoma State jumped from ninth to sixth in the league standings following a sweep of Iowa State at Cowgirl Stadium over the weekend. The Cowgirls look to continue their good fortune on Wednesday against Texas Tech.
OSU has four road games scheduled this week, starting with a doubleheader against the Red Raiders at 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday.
Texas Tech opened conference play with an 8-5 win against Iowa State but has dropped five straight since then, two each to Kansas and Baylor and one against Iowa State. Oklahoma State's start in leauge play has been just the opposite, after losing five straight to start the Big 12 season the Cowgirls rebounded with two wins against Iowa State.
Last year the Cowgirls took a pair of one-run games from Texas Tech in Stillwater, winning 1-0 and squeaking by 3-2 in nine innings. Oklahoma State is 18-6 all-time against the Red Raiders and has won four of the last five meetings. The Cowgirls are 6-3 all-time in Lubbock.
HEAD COACH MARGARET REBENAR
Margaret Rebenar is in her 25th season season as a softball coach at Oklahoma State and third as a head coach. Rebenar joined the Cowgirl softball program in 1980 after serving as a pitching coach at UCLA for one season. After filling the assistant coach role for 22 seasons, Rebenar was named the head coach in 2001. Rebenar led the 2003 Cowgirls to a second-place finish in the Big 12 regular season race and their first NCAA Regional appearance in five years. Under her guidance, 23 players have earned All-American status 29 times, including Olympians Michele Smith, Melanie Roche and Lauren Bay. Rebenar brings a 90-59 record as a head coach into theTexas Tech series.
SCOUTING TEXAS TECH
Texas Tech is 19-24 on the year and enters the series in the midst of a four-game losing steak. The Red Raiders are led by Elyssa Sigala with a .378 batting average and 26 RBI. Sigala has 13 doubles and eight home runs, leading to a .712 slugging percentage and good enough for second in the Big 12. Kelly Rhyne comes in second with a .356 average and is one of two Red Raiders to have started every game. Tech has stolen 53 bases, led by Ashley Parker with 12. Texas Tech has four pitchers on staff, led by Erin Crawford with 16 starts. Crawford is 9-8 on the year with a 2.08 ERA in 104.1 innings. Julie Hauck and Keely Tucker have each started 10 games. Hauck is 2-8 on the year in 72.1 innings with a 2.32 ERA. Keely has a 6-7 record and 3.33 ERA in 61.0 innings. Kassy Planck rounds out the foursome with a 2.56 ERA and 2-1 record in 52.0 innings.
Series snapshot
longest winning streak: 11 by OSU, snapped in 1998
largest margin: OSU won 18-3 in 1996; Tech won 11-3 in 1999
1-run games: OSU leads 5-4
2-run games: OSU leads 2-0
5+run games: OSU leads 6-2
LOOKING AHEAD
Oklahoma State wraps up a four-game road swing this week with a trip to Kansas to face the Jayhawks. The Cowgirls take on Kansas in a two-game weekend series beginning at 2 p.m. on Saturday. Oklahoma State returns to Cowgirl Stadium to host Texas A&M for a midweek doubleheader next Wednesday.
COWGIRL SOFTBALL ON THE AIR
Oklahoma State's home conference games, as well as the OU game in Norman, the TU game in Tulsa and all postseason contests will be broadcast live on Stillwater Radio. Bill VanNess will provide the play-by-play for the sixth consecutive season. Any game starting prior to 5 p.m. will air on KSPI 780 AM. Any game starting at 5 p.m. or later will be broadcast on KGFY 105.5 FM.
COWGIRL SOFTBALL ON THE WEB
For the latest information on 2004 Cowgirl Softball visit the official web site of Oklahoma State Athletics at www.okstate.com. Live stats will be available online for all home events and selected games will be broadcast with a live video feed on the MVP portion of the web site.
